Qrows & Roses
by drunkenqrows
Summary: A series of adventures, centered around an old master, returning from his years-long mission, and a young apprentice who convinces him to teach her how to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed. (Fluffy shenanigans and feel trips ahoy!)
1. Dogs & Birthdays

A/N: As a little preamble, I'd like to say that I love the interactions, and differences, between Qrow and Ruby. I started this little story arc in order to try to explore their relationship as master and apprentice from the beginning of Ruby's training. I'm very open to opinions and new ideas, so please add those to the reviews or p.m. if you'd like to share them. Thanks and enjoy your read.

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 **Part 1 - Dogs & Birthdays**

"What a wash," the old huntsman groaned as he kicked the gravel along the street, walking down the shadiest part of Lower Mistral like he didn't give a damn about all the glaring eyes that were upon him.

Yeah, that's right, he didn't give a damn. So what if humans weren't welcomed?

The sour mood huntsman had hoofed it all the way from the other side of the world on a hot tip of White Fang activity in the area known as Lower Mistral, home to one of the largest faunus communities in Remnant.

The streets are narrow and dark, littered with trash that no one bothers to clean, giving the place a smell that anyone from the outside would immediately be revolted by. Living condition are poor to say the least, the poorest this huntsman has ever seen actually. Not much attention is given to the cramped quarter by its ruling council. A place like this would be perfect for recruiting young, hungry, and angry faunus into the ranks of the White Fang.

Or so Qrow thought! By the Four Seasons, he wished he'd gotten some more solid intel from Ozpin the next time he dispatched him on a wild hunt such as this!

He kicked an innocent trashcan that was lying in his way. The oversized tin can sailed across the street with a perfect shoe impression flattened into its thin metal shell. It split across a nonfunctioning light post before spilling its contents onto the ground.

"Heh," he lightly chuckled as he reaches into his pocket. "Still a size twelve I see," He took out his flask and downed a large gulp. He embraced the bitter sweet buzz.

As soon as he reports back to Beacon, his boss is going to get a drunken earful from him.

 _Back to Vale then_ , he thought, causing him to pause. The last time he was in Vale was for his youngest niece's birthday. That was what, two or… _three years ago?_

Qrow has always had another mission to do as soon as one was finished. There was always some investigation to be conducted, some group to spy on, some Grimm that need exterminating. But now, the first time in a long while, he had no new mission waiting for him after this. His last lead for his current case has gone cold, leaving him with nothing to do.

Even Ozpin, his chief source of information, hasn't communicated to him any new leads either. _That's definitely odd._

Maybe with this free time he could revisit some of his favorite watering holes, knock down a few and start a fight or two. Maybe he'd wonder around for a bit, look for and hope that trouble found him so he could shred it into pieces. Maybe he could continue searching for her…

He rolled his eyes and smashed down another gulp from the flask. Anything to keep from breaking down like his brother-in-law. Anything but that.

A rustling of feet came from behind, pulling the semi-buzzed Qrow to attention.

"Hmm?" He groaned as he looked behind his left shoulder, an uninterested look across his face.

They were faunus, a whole lot of them too. Decked in white hoods and armor, each of them wore mask over their eyes but their malice was clearly felt.

"Not a complete wash after all," Qrow remarked to himself, turning to face them, still uninterested, his mind mostly elsewhere. "Looks like I get a regular old White Fang hit squad." He took a brief scan of the area. "With extra helpings it seems." He was surrounded. White Fang soldiers stood around him high and low, on the roof tops, in the streets, and all around him. He counted at least thirty of them and then got bored of counting.

No wonder he'd never ran into any White Fang until yet. They were all living in plane site, never revealing their true colors until the moment was right. And the moment to them it seems, is the perfect moment to kill their interloper.

A figure stepped forward in the crowd of silent soldiers. "You've been a great bother to us as of late huntsman," His voice was thick, arms ripped and decked in tattoos, face covered completely by a mask. In his hands he wielded a weapon that Qrow can only describe as a ' _big damn chainsaw'_. He pointed a straight finger at Qrow as if to stab his heart with it. "Here he is my brothers and sisters, here is the man whose hounded our family all the way from Vale." He declared to his _adoring,_ bloodthirsty audience. "It because of him some of family members are not here today, it is because of huntsman like he that we have to continue to hide our true selves, for fear of being discovered and wiped out." He ran his thumb across his neck in a sliced motion, "We will take his head my brothers and sisters, we will take his head and send it back to those who would and oppress us and-"

The voice trailed off as Qrow downed another gulp of bitter sweet relief. He was feeling it now, _oh man_. Maybe he could do for a quick trip home, he thought, and if anything he could make sure Taiyang was taking good care of the kids. By the Seasons they must be at least fifteen and twelve at this point. Maybe even older… He fumbled his flask back into his pocket and managed to get his scroll out. He flipped it open, squinting at the suddenly bright screen. He checked the date… _damn!_

A lightning bolt went through his mind. _Ruby is going to be thirteen next week?!_ What should he get her? He can't just pop back into town and be like, _oh it's your first birthday I've been to in a while so I forget to get you something, my bad_. No damn it! He doesn't want to be that guy. Seriously though, what do you get a teen for their birthday? He hardly knew of anything of what the kids these days are into. Maybe a teddy bear? But what if she's too old? _Oh, how about a dog?_ No wait… they already got that super pup. What'd they end up naming it again?

"DO WE NOT HAVE YOUR ATTENTION?" The White Fang's leader's voice broke up his messy thoughts like a rock shattering a mirror. Qrow tilted his head to him and saw he was clearly pissed.

"Oh… _heh_ … forget you were d'ere," He was starting to slur his words. Oh well. "I'm just… uh… trying to figure out what teenage girls like for their birthdays. Hey, do _you_ know what teens like for their birthdays?"

"What…?" The leader's brow was definitely furrowed under his mask. "Are you _drunk?"_ He questioned.

"Err… hold on a second," Qrow took back out his flask and poured the rest of its contents straight down his throat. He rode buzz punch right down to his core and grinned. "Okay… _huuuuh_ … _now_ I. am. dru _nks_ …" He laughed, oh man, _what was that dog's name? Seriously? Wasn't it Ruby who named her? No, wait it's a guy dog. Also Ruby. Also birthday. Also, druuuuuuuunk._

That last sip was a big one, Qrow could feel himself riding the rollercoaster now!

All the White Fang around the now fairly blitzed huntsman were fairly disappointed. The leader shook his head slowly. "This is what we've been hiding from…?"

"But no, it's like…" Qrow rambled on happily. "A boy dog, so it's gotta be called something manly right? _Guuuh_. Doesn't a dog get a birthday to? Ehh… wait, who are you guys again?"

"I just…" The White Fang leader began. "I just can't right now…" He sighed, after having given the speech he's worked on up until this point, only for it to be ignored by his _supposed_ greatest opponent yet.

Qrow gasped suddenly. "Hey wait a minute!" He pointed a figure at the leader, suddenly serious, eyes turned cold and deadly. The White Fang as a whole all took a step back. "You…" He began, cursing the words out of his mouth.

The leader got into his battle stance, the rest of his kin following suite.

Qrow starred daggers into them, standing straight and serious. Finally, after a deadly pause, he said, "You… haven't told me teenage girls like for their birthdays yet." He said in all seriousness.

"I… you're..." The leader could barely make any words. He groaned deeply and buried his face in his hand. "Just kill him."

With a sudden roar, the crowds surged forward, white mask and the ones that wore them all jumped into action. Many swords came at him in all direction.

Qrow spun on his heel, kicking the nearest sword right out of its owner's hands. He dodged another, and sent two soldiers flying away with a pair of half powered punches. One soldier was so bold as to jump in with a downwards hack. Qrow grinned and caught the sword perfectly between his hands.

With a snap the weapon was ripped from its owner's hands and Qrow seized the bewildered faunus by the arms and brought him in close.

"Hey!" He whispered, a sick grin cutting through his cheeks. "Do _you_ know what to get… for teen's birth _days_?"

The White Fang soldier gulped loudly, shacking violently with fear. "I… I… don't know… maybe, ahhhh, maybe, a teddy bear!"

Qrow cocked an eyebrow. "Wah? Are you stupid? Teenagers are too old for that kind of stuff." He tossed the poor man over his head, sending the faunus straight through a window of a nearby abandoned apartment block.

The rest of the White Fang were smart enough not to all charge in at once like those who did before. They circled him, waiting to pounce, like true Grimm in the wild.

"If ya'll ain't going to help me out." Qrow pulled back his bangs to reveal his red eyes. "Then I guess," He dropped a hand to his weapon. "I gotta figure this out all on my own." He lifted the weapon and with a click it roared to life, jutting forward and forming a massive sword. Definitely something you don't want to see a drunk man swinging around.

One of the White Fang soldiers turned to a nearby comrade. "Is this guy serious?"

 _BLAST_. The soldier hit the dirt after receiving a face full of shotgun. The other's around the fallen man slowly looked back to see Qrow with his weapon's duel barrels smocking.

"Yeah- I'm for real serious here," he slurred. "I gotta a niece's birthday coming up," he let out a small burp "and… I don't know what to get her! And here you guys are… and… you can't even come up with any good ideas!" He leaned his weapon on his shoulders and shook his head with genuine disappointment. "Ya know, you guys are a bunch of jerks."

"ARRAGH!" The White Fang leader howled. "Shut up and DIE!" He's clearly had it these shenanigans.

A fresh wave of _victims_ came barreling towards Qrow. "Alrighty, round two it is."

Like flies they fell. Each swing of his massive sword cleaved right through the throngs of enemies, sending them into nearby buildings, each other, or straight up into the air where they came crashing back down into the filthy concrete. Some gun fire came at him in the mix, and even in his drunken stupor, he could deflect it away from him with ease. Not a single one of them was a good fighter. To Qrow, despite of how much of a handicap he's giving them, none of them gave him a challenge.

Soon enough he knocked enough of them out to cause the last batch of survivors to think twice before tangoing with the likes of him.

The leader finally stepped forward. "We've clearly underestimated this one…" He gripped his chainsaw blade tightly. "I must redeem this clan. You will fall!" He lunged forward, weapon roaring to life with a blade that spun faster than the eye can see.

Qrow put up a defense with both arms to catch the attack on his blade. It was a half-decent attack, he thought.

"Wanna dance sweet heart?" He winked at the leader as they locked weapons. The other cringed.

"There is seriously something wrong in this world if they let people like you become huntsman!" He roared with a fresh wave of anger. With the pull of a trigger, his chainsaw buzzed faster, sending sparks off from where it met with Qrow's blade.

"For as long as we can remember," The White Fang leader began on another well practiced speech of his. "You huntsman have looked down upon us, favoring your human brethren over our needy and helpless." He pushed harder into Qrow. "Weren't it not for our efforts, the faunus would've been pushed out of Remnant and back into the void generation ago! How can you huntsman call yourselves warriors of the people when you ignore those who are different then you!"

They disengaged swords and swung back at each other to form another stalemate. "What do you have to say for yourself huntsman? What do you have to say after hunting us as if we were the Grimm?" He leaned in harder, his face pressing closer to Qrow's, brimming with anger and fury. "What do you have to say-"

A massive burp escaped Qrow's lips and blasted straight into the nostrils of the White Fang leader.

The leader disengaged from Qrow and stumbled backwards. "What. The. Fu-"

 _BOOM!_ A shotgun blast caught the man squarely in the chest, knocking him back several meters.

"Oops," Qrow chuckled, flipping his weapon back into sword mode. "My bad there… _heh._ Hey, do you know what to get for-"

"NO!" The White Fang leader leapt back to his feet. "Enough of this nonsense about birthdays, about dog names, about your damned niece!" He grasped his weapon with both hands and got ready for a renewed assault. "I've heard enough!"

"Hey buddy," All of the sudden Qrow's voice suddenly became more clear and serious. A man's drink is precious to him, but his niece… talking about her like that is… _UNFORGIVABLE!_

As if a fire was ignited, Qrow's left eye shinned forebodingly bright. He glared at the man, tacking a step forward. The other took a step back. "Your dead," he stated, all serious, no joke.

He pulled the secondary trigger on his weapon. Each section of the blade jutted forward with a loud _bang_ and _hiss_ , the whining of gears singled the start of the weapon's transformation. The blade curved back and the handle extended to several times it length. The gears inside the weapon, now no longer a massive sword, finished their spinning and came to a halt with loud _click clang!_ The weapon had turned into a scythe, a type of weapon with quite a reputation, just like its wielder.

"Boss…" One of the henchmen stepped close the leader and whispered. "I think we should… you know… retreat."

"Stand your ground my brother." The leader lashed back. "If we stand together, we can- gaaahh!"

A silver wave of light shrieked right through the formation of White Fang survivors, not directly hitting any one person but instead passed through with enough force to knock everyone down and cleave a small building behind them in two.

Over the sound of smashing glass and falling debris, Qrow spoke slowly and deadly, his scythe blade glowed brighter than the shattered moon up above. "Now it's your turn," He started to inch closer and closer to the last survivors, the cleaved building now a smoldering pile of wreckage behind them. "To shut up and die."

The subsequent screams could be heard from all across the city. No one was sparred…

Qrow walked away from the mess he had made, a satisfied grinned played across his face as he stumbled back to safer streets.

No one died of course, back there he knew how to pull his punches. They all deserved a knock down but killing wasn't something a _real_ huntsman would do. No, he'll leave their fate to the police, assuming if they ever show up to scrape the bodies off the walls and streets. Not much of a chance of that, given the areas notoriety. Oh well.

Now that there is clear evidence of White Fang activity, or rather _was_ , his mission would continue in Mistral…

Qrow shook his head and laughed. "Hey Oz," he started sarcastically, talking aloud and to no one, "I'm taking a break from all of these missions. I hope you're cool with that, cause, heh, if you're not, then tough sh-"

"I'm perfectly fine with that Qrow," A muffled voice came from his pocket.

Qrow nearly tripped and stumbled for bit before fumbling for his Scroll. "What the dust?" He flipped the device open. "Oh…"

Leave it to him to accidently speed dial the Headmaster of Beacon during his drunken tirade. "Umm, how long have you been on the line?" He scratched his head nervously, hoping he didn't learn much.

"Since you've seemingly missed dialed me before your little tussle with what sounded like a rather large group of White Fang soldiers." The little image of Ozpin on the screen should the gentlemen smiling, sitting in his chair and sipping coffee as he always did. "Good job dispatching them without causing too much damage to the city."

"Uh, yeah… thanks," Qrow looked from side to side nervously. Ozpin didn't need to know about the one and a half destroyed buildings right?

Qrow let out a deep sigh. "Look Oz, about this mission,"

"I know what you're going to say." Ozpin cut in, giving the 'all-knowing-look' to Qrow. "I heard much of what's going on. Including something about your young niece's birthday. I think it do everyone some good if you returned to base for a little while and resumed your mission at your leisure." He took a sip of coffee and paused, thinking. "The White Fang are increasing their efforts, your engagement with them won't be the last of it, or likely the worst."

Qrow nods in agreement. "Whenever I knock these jokers down, they just keep getting back up. Either there that resilient or…"

"Or their true leader is that much more determined stay in the fight," Ozpin finished. "It's troubling to say the least. I think a change of tactics is in order. For now, I think you should come back to Vale. Like you intended to." He smirked at the other.

Qrow smirked back. "You got it boss man,"

"Very good," Ozpin reached to end the call but then remembered something. "Oh and one last thing Qrow," He started. "I believe teenagers like your niece would appreciate just having their family visit them for their birthdays."

Ozpin ended the call, leaving Qrow to say. "Well, that's all well and peachy, but that doesn't answer my question!" Qrow shacked the scroll as if to shack Ozpin right out of it. " _What can I get Ruby that she would like?!_ " He blurted out, his voice echoing down the street, getting him the attention of some out-late passersby's.

"Ah, whatever, I'll figure it out when I get there." He jammed the scroll down his pocket and sorely wished he had two flasks instead of one.

Qrow snapped his fingers and blurted out. "Zwei! That's what they named." Walking down the street again, he pondered. "What do you get for dog birthdays?"

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A/N: Thanks a bunch for reading. I look forward to any responses I might get. Have a good one!


	2. Explosions & Reunions

**Part 2 - Explosions & Reunions**

To the west of Vale, across a narrow strait sea, lies the quiet island of Patch. Much of the area has been cultivated into farm land, leaving nothing but rolling hills of vegetation for the eye to see. On one of these hills was a quaint two story farm house with its own little dirt road leading up to the front porch where a happy little dog sunbathed and slept soundly. In the back there was an old rusty red barn, filled to the brim with all manner of junk, spare parts and other oddities. A small vegetable garden was recently added near the barn, in the hopes that two growing young girl would eat better. To complete the rustic picture of countryside life, a small windmill stood steadfast against the sea breeze that rolled up through the hills.

Oh and then there were fire balls, lots of them, being scattered across the horizon.

"Heeya!" Yang Xiao Long let out a roar of confidence, sending bolts of fire straight at her opponent.

Taiyang, the father of the ferocious little dragon, gave her a cocky grin as he weaved around her ranged attacks. It reminded him much of the time he used to play dodge ball with her when she was just a little girl. In essence the same rules apply in both cases.

"At this rate you're going to burn through all of your ammo sweetheart." Taiyang jumped high as the ground he stood on a moment earlier exploded.

Yang, a fifteen-year-old star student of Signal Academy, and pupil of the legendary Taiyang Xiao Long, only mimicked her father's cocky grin.

"Not if you make a mistake first!" She charged forward and leapt towards her father, right fist drawn back for a strike.

The older man raised a brow before touching back down and setting one foot back to prepare to repulse her. His foot suddenly sunk into the charred earth, like stepping in a sand filled pothole. He winced as he felt his stance weaken from the bad footing. _This_ was what she waiting for. He was so proud of her.

Despite being unarmed and off balanced, Taiyang did not quiver. He charged his aura to the center of his chest and caught the shocking blow of Yang's Ember Celica right where he predicted she'd aim for. His body flew back but he never allowed his feet to leave the ground which carved a trail into the soil, much like a plow readying a field for planting.

Coming to a stop nearly five meters away, chest steaming from the powerful blow, Taiyang let out a boisterous laugh. "Ha ha! Very good Yang. You havebeenlistening to my lectures." He patted his chest proudly. "Any harder and that would've really hurt."

Yang smirked back. "C'mon dad, you barely felt that one." She opened the chambers on her weapons and emptied all of the spent shells. "Let's keep going!" She took two sets of dust shells and whipped them around her weapons, instantly refilling their ammo chambers.

Taiyang twisted his chin to the far left and felt a satisfying _pop_ come from his neck. "Alright, this time though, you don't have to hold back. I'm not over the hill just yet ya know!"

Yang flashed a serious grin. "Okay, but I won't be going completely all out on you. Otherwise, who else is going to make us dinner tonight."

Taiyang rolled his eyes. "Just get that semblance fired up already."

Yang nodded and closed her eyes. Focusing her thoughts onto her aura, she willed it to release all of the stored energy she's been building up during her battle. It manifested itself as golden flames coming from the long locks of hair that reached down to her waist. The flames grew larger and brighter the more she's focused. The ground began to shack a little from the sheer amount of energy she was giving off.

Taiyang scratched scruffy chin. "You sure are taking a while. If I were a Grimm, you'd be in my belly by now!" He goaded.

Yang retorted angrily. "Hold on, I'm trying." Eyes still closed, still trying to bring herself close to full strength.

Taiyang pretended to yawn and stretch his arms. "Try faster."

She was almost there, she could feel it. Every time she called upon her semblance, she got better at using it. Her father was certainly going to feel what comes next.

"HAAAAAA!" Yang exploded is a furious fire ball, the heat of it washed over an impressed Taiyang. Her eyes were as red as her mother's.

"That's my girl." Taiyang raised his fist and got into a defense guard. "Keep that focus up and show me what you got!"

Yang nodded, pulled both fist back and focused all of her released energy into them.

Taiyang was ready but then suddenly was distracted by the squeaking of a lone crow flying overhead.

"Can it be?" Taiyang wondered to himself, staring at the familiar avian. He turned to look towards the fence and saw a familiar roguish-looking character sitting on it.

His old teammate no less. Elated, Taiyang waved over to him. "Qrow! Hey, when did you get back." He hollered over to him.

Qrow waved back, grinning, and then pointed a finger at Yang.

Taiyang cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you…" His eyes widened to their maximum length and he jerked his head back towards Yang but it was too late. His feet had already left the ground.

Yang's attack came in the form of a massive shockwave. It was a move she's been perfecting for months now, sending all of her energy forward as she punched the air with both fist, creating a shockwave of compressed super-heated air that was violent enough to catch Taiyang off-guard and send him flying… _right into the barn_.

Taiyang sailed headfirst into the broadside of his own barn. Crashing through the wooden wall like a wrecking ball going through paper. Loud crashed of metal and wood could be heard from the inside of it, leaving much to the imagination on how bad the damage was going to be to the interior.

After a split moment of silence from the barn, with Yang watching, mouth covered, and Qrow laughing his butt off, a girl's voice could be heard.

"Waaaaaaah! Dad! What happened! Why'd you fly in here like that?!" More crashing noises came from the barn's interior. "Ahhhh! Stop moving, you're breaking all of my stuff!"

The groans of Taiyang were loud. "I'm trying not to but you've got too much stuff in here anyways. Ouch!" Another loud crash.

"Gaaah! Watch out! That's where I keep the-"

 _BOOM!_ A section of the barn's roof exploded outwards with a massive plume of red dust coming out of it. The barn door burst where thrown open by Taiyang who came out coughing and covered in soot.

Qrow walked up to Yang, slowly clapping his hands. "Nice one kid. High score." He chuckled. Normally he'd have to be half way through his flask to be this entertained by something as chaotic as what he just witnessed.

Yang turned, eyes still glowing red, fist steaming from releasing all of her energy at once. "Uncle Qrow?"

Qrow suddenly gagged for air as Yang clamped on to him with a vice-like hug. "Uncle Qrow! It so good to see you."

If it didn't suffocate him so much, he'd say it felt good receiving a genuine emotional hug from his eldest niece. His arms were stuck anyhow so he couldn't properly return it.

"Yeah," Qrow wheezed, eyes rolled back. "Good to see you too Yang. You've gotten…" His back screamed with pain, "…a lot stronger."

Yang finally let go and stood there with giddiness. Now that he had a better look at her, he can only stare in wonder. She looked so much like her mother now, which only brought memories of his sister rushing back into him.

Qrow shook his head to stop starring and looked over towards Taiyang. "So… the barns exploded."

"Uhhh…" Yang nervously looked over her shoulder to see her handy work. She sheepishly grimaced. "That was probably just all the dust in the storage cabinets going off."

Qrow and Yang approached the scene to find a soot covered Taiyang trying to brush his clothes off in front of the barn's now wide open doors.

Qrow lifted a brow. "That must've hurt." He grinned.

Taiyang looked up and rolled his eyes. "It did," He glanced at Yang who nervously looked away. "It _really_ did."

Qrow wasn't worried. Of all the members of their team, Taiyang was without a doubt the toughest one to take down.

Qrow looked around and wondered. "Where's the other one?"

Taiyang jerked a figure behind him. "Inside, trying to clean up the mess _someone_ made." Before Yang could make a rebuttal in her defense, Taiyang called out. "Ruby! Come on out here, there's something you gotta see!"

A fresh set of rattling came from inside the barn, and along with another voice. "What? Did you guys blow up the house too?" The little voice sassed.

A young girl emerged from the barn, also covered head to toe in soot. Qrow wouldn't have recognized her right away if it weren't for the red cape she wore, the same one he remembered her wearing years ago.

The moment she laid her eyes on him they lit up like fireworks, mouth slowing dropping with the unmistakable expression of joy propping up her cheeks. He felt the nostalgia and emotional reunions kicking him in the gut again and wanted to take a drink, but for the second time that afternoon, he felt the life being squeezed out of him.

Not even a second had ticked by and yet somehow she was already on him, arms and legs pressed around his torso with her face buried in his chest like some sort of super sloth hanging onto a tree branch. She didn't say anything, just held on to him, flooding Qrow's body with emotional warmth. He felt almost dizzy. Mainly due to Ruby crashing into his chest at a speed he couldn't even begin to register. It was as if she teleported right onto him.

"Uh… he kid. It's been a while." Qrow said awkwardly. He's never been hugged by a sloth before, you know?

Ruby peeked up with sparkling eyes. "Ohhhhh, Uncle Qrow! It's so good to see you! You've been away for so long and I always wondered when you'd come back and visit!" She kept hugging tighter. _Ouch!_

"Right, well…" He looked over to Taiyang and Yang, both smiling widely. "I'm taking a sort of break from my missions and figured I could go for some down time." He looked down to the sloth of girl hanging on to him. "I will say I am a bit surprised by how much you've grown. If I'm not mistaken, you've already activated your aura and developed a semblance."

Ruby grinned. "That's right! I got my aura locked and loaded! I going to be attending Signal Academy with Yang real soon and I can't wait to get started on my huntress training." She finally released her sloth grip on him and hopped onto her feet. "Want to see my semblance? It's super cool!"

Qrow wondered if Taiyang had been giving this child gallons of coffee and sugar or if she was always this hyperactive. Either that or she was just really happy to see him. _Just_ _maybe_.

"Alright then, show me what ya got kid."

Beaming with excitement, Ruby jumped backwards a few paces, spread her feet like a runner whose about to take off. Qrow didn't blink that time and still she vanished from his sight with only a trail of rose petals left in her wake.

Before any remarks were made, Ruby popped back into their view, caring a half awake dog in her arms.

"See!" She lifted up the dog. "I can move super-fast! Like, _really_ fast!" The dog yawned and gave a welcoming bark to Qrow.

"Well that's certainly something." Qrow commented. He crossed his arms and studied the girl.

He had already expected Yang to have activated her own aura by now but Ruby was certainly ahead of the curve. Both of the girls are already able to call upon their semblances at will but he felt something odd about Ruby's. To him, he felt she was just barely scratching the surface of her full potential.

"Oh, that's right," Qrow suddenly remembered. He reached behind his back and pulled out a crudely wrapped package with a tangled bow affixed to it. "This… uh… yeah, happy birthday."

That did it. That is what truly set off the gleeful volcano that was Ruby Rose.

She inhaled deeply as she was handed the gift, silver eyes brighter than the midday sun. " _You remembered?_ " She squealed and smiled. Ruby's smile could melt glaciers.

Instead of shredding through the wrapping, like Qrow thought she might do, she delicately took off the wrapping and opened up the package.

A second time she inhaled, holding in her hands a dog shaped pillow. "It looks just like Zwei!" She exclaimed, squeezing it into her chest to feel its softness. Zwei barked with approval.

Qrow felt lucky. On his way out of Mistral, while still drunk he might add, he had come across a children's toy store and saw that they had several animal shaped pillows on display in the windows. He didn't want to get her a teddy bear, since that would be silly for someone of her age, _thank you random White Fang guy I threw through a window_ , but he _did_ know she took care of a dog so a dog pillow would probably be a good choice. The fact that the pillow happened to look just like her dog was a welcomed bonus.

Yang walked over and gave Qrow another hug. This one didn't hurt as much. "Aww, that's so sweet of you Uncle Qrow." She said very mother-like. "You know, my motorcycle could do for some new paint on her. I'm thinking of this sweet yellow and orange design. Maybe you could remember that for my next birthday?"

The hint there was obvious. Also, _since when does she drive a motorcycle?!_

Qrow felt Taiyang hand on his soldier. "It's good to have you back Qrow."

He nodded back, with a smile of his own.

"Now then," Taiyang began. "Yang, Ruby, I want all of the holes in the barn fixed by dinner time."

"What?" Both of the girls exclaimed.

"Hang on dad," Yang started. "It's not exactly my fault you didn't block in time. You were telling me to attack, so I did."

Ruby pipped in too. "And you did accidently knock over the dust cabinet. Which then went _ba-choooo_!" Ruby's added with sound effects with flailing arms.

Taiyang nodded in agreement. "Fair points, but I need to catch up with your dear uncle. So I trust you two will do this one favor for me." That was dad code for _please just do it since I am your father_.

Taiyang led Qrow away while Ruby grumbled to Yang about wrecking her workshop and the other claimed it wasn't her fault, mostly.

Patch looked beautiful with sun going down, hanging low enough to create a beam of orange light across the ocean it descended towards.

The pair walked along a dirt road on a cliff overlooking the narrow stretch of sea that separated Patch from Vale. Qrow walked with his hands resting on the back of his head, Taiyang with his crossed across his chest.

"It's been years," Taiyang started. "Why the sudden change in mood?"

Qrow shook his head. "Not sure what you mean. I already said I'm taking a break from my missions."

"You mean _a mission_." Taiyang forcefully corrected him. "The same one you've always been on."

Qrow sighed. "I wasn't just cracking skulls and beating up lowlife scum." He reached into his pocket and found his familiar friend. "There's a lot out there that needs checking on, information Ozpin needed to know." He took out the flask and took a drink from it.

"Still, you should've been here more often."

Qrow stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. "Huh? What'd you say?"

Taiyang, arms still crossed, stayed silent.

Qrow shook his head. "Don't even start Tai." Qrow stated with a sharp edge to his tone.

"No," Taiyang stood defiantly. "There are other huntsman Ozpin can call upon. But you keep insisting to be sent back out there, without even coming back." He put a hand on Qrow shoulder and looked straight at him. "You've been running from it for too long."

A flash of anger took over Qrow as he knocked Taiyang hand away from him. "Me? Your telling me not run away?" He shook his head some more. "Oh brother," He took another swig and started to walk around Taiyang. "You know, that's some real bull to say to me." The alcohol didn't help his attitude at all. "I'm out there doing what I know best, what Team STRQ did best back then."

"It's over though!" Taiyang shot back. "I'm trying to tell you that you don't have to keep this up, keep being this one-man-team." He points behind in the direction of his house. "The girls want you stay just as much as I do. You don't have to keep going back out there, being by yourself."

"Hey, I'm here now aren't I?" Qrow waved his arms to emphasize the question. "Maybe not for long, but I still came back."

"Yes, and then you'll end up leaving again as soon as Ozpin hands down new information."

"That's…" _True_ , Qrow thought. He never did stay long. "I'm not even going to try to argue about this. You're out of touch with the outside, you don't even know what kind of threats are growing out there."

"Maybe not, but I do know Ozpin. If we can't face what's out there now, then he's going to wait and plan for the threat whenever it shows itself." He shook his head and stared at Qrow intensely. "It's like you want to find whatever's out there and have it kill you."

"Oh yeah, right," Qrow gave a fake chuckle. "Me, a guy with nothing else to loose, want to go get killed." He gave the other a mocking smile.

"What about Ruby and Yang? Aren't they worth it? Aren't they the only reason you ever come back every few years?"

That one felt like a gut stab. Qrow turned especially serious. "Yeah, you're right, I care about those two." He walked up close to Taiyang. "They're the only thing's I have left to remind me on my sister and Summer." He said harshly through gritted teeth. "I fight out there so they can be safe in here. I care about them. I've watched over them when you broke down after we lost Summer. And it's a good thing I did too since you let them wonder on their own into the forest and nearly get killed by a pack of Beowolves!"

A fist swung up and caught Qrow in his jaw, putting him off his feet and landing several paces away.

Overhead, night swiftly approached and cast a shadow over the two. A crow flew overhead, screeching angrily, as if to scream daggers at Taiyang.

Qrow grunted and looked up from the dirt. Judging by the enraged flare in his eyes, Qrow was certain he had just woken the sleeping dragon.

"Okay," Qrow got up. He tasted blood in his mouth and spit out a bit of it. " _This_ has been long overdue." He took has weapon and threw it to the ground. Sleeves rolled up, fist raised, he muttered. "You've got a lot nerve, brother."

Taiyang didn't say a word back, instead they charged at each other, both with fist pulled back.

* * *

A/N: Gosh, writing for Taiyang is not an easy task. Given what little we know about his character, I'm making a lot of assumptions about his personality and style of parenting. We also don't know the man's semblance or weapon of choice but I'm assuming, since Yang is his student, that he knows a thing or two about punching. More on that later.

Anyways, thank you for reading and I look forward to any and all feedback.


	3. Breaks & Fixes

**Part 3 - Breaks & Fixes**

"Hey Yang, how long do you think Uncle Qrow is going to stay for?"

Yang looked up from her hammering, two nails pinched between her lip as she tried to fix the hole in the side of their barn. She saw her sister starring out towards the direction their father and uncle had walked off to. She didn't have to see her face to guess what kind of look she had.

"I'm not sure," She answered, with all honesty. Putting down her hammer and nails, she walked over to her sister and put and arm around her. "Uncle Qrow does a lot important things, which sometimes keeps him on the road for a while."

"Yeah, I know," Her voice was sunken with disappointment. Yang knows how long she's been waiting to see him again, how important it was for her.

Yang tightened her one-armed hug. "Hey, maybe when you show him what you've been working on he'll stick around a bit to help you out." Yang said, not knowing at all if that was accurate.

"You really think so?" A hint of hope could be found in her voice.

"Yeah," She nuzzled her cheek next to the other's. "It never hurts to try, right?"

Ruby nodded, giving Yang an assuring smile. "Right,"

"Great!" Yang retrieved her hammer and set back down to continue working. "We're going to need more nails for this board, could you run and grab some from the basement?"

Ruby, confidence in hand, saluted in a mock-military fashion. "On it!"

Like a bolt of lightning, she vanished, leaving her signature trail of rose petals behind. Yang's smile faded after a moment, also hoping their uncle would find a reason to stay longer. _Any reason._

Zwei barked at Yang for attention, wagging a stubby tail with a thought on his mind.

Yang looked down a patted the fury friend. "I know boy, I know. Maybe this time could be a different." She sighed, lamenting her inability to promise Ruby what she really wanted. "Dad's probably talking to him right now about it."

Zwei continued to wag his tail, giving her an affirmative bark. He ran around in a short circle on his stubby little legs and gave a series of barks that Yang could easily interpret.

"You want to help fix the barn?" Yang asked. It made sense after all, Zwei keep's his favorite toys hidden somewhere in there, amongst all of the random spare parts and oil stained tools Ruby keeps. "Well okay," She smiled at the cheerful canine. "Could you help me find the power saw? I couldn't find it after the explosion knocked everything around."

The super pup was on the case. It raised one paw in a 'Ruby Salute' before scurrying off into the barn and diving into a pile of parts, tools and metal, looking for the lost tool.

"Good boy."

* * *

Qrow could feel his heart pound heavily like a jackhammer. His lungs felt burdened and fatigued, a result of all the hits he took. Taiyang was in the same shape, also feeling the pain brought on by the other. They stood their ground, a few paces a part, and stared each other down.

"Thick skull as ever," Taiyang commented, his fist still held up.

"You're one to talk." Qrow shot back before spitting out a bit of blood mixed saliva. "You just don't know when to just let it go."

Taiyang glared. "I should be saying the same thing!" He dashed forward for a fresh assault.

Qrow easily ducked under a hammer fist from the right and blocked a raised knee aimed at his chest. What he didn't manage to block was the swift elbow Taiyang delivered by spinning back and falling forward. It dug into Qrow's aura and gave him jolting pain across his temple. Taiyang followed up with a combo of lefts and rights, forcing Qrow to fallback with a raised guard by several feet. The pain he felt throughout the whole of his body, the shock of the impacts from his opponents devastating blows, they were nothing to him. He has been through so much worse.

Finally, Qrow's guard weakened for a mere moment. Taiyang's years of experience kicked in and screamed at him to strike now. He sent a devastating uppercut straight into Qrow's jaw, for the second time that night. It put the other right into the ground.

 _It does hurt nearly as much_ , Qrow thought as he lied their motionless, eyes half closed and arms spread apart.

Taiyang stopped to look down at Qrow and frowned. "It should've taken more than that to put you down."

Qrow chuckled weakly. It hurt to laugh at this point. "If only Yang could hit half as hard as you," He groaned in pained as he tried to get up. He failed and laid back down in the dirt. "Then… none of us would have to do anything." He joked. "We'd just send that beast out there to clean up all the Grimm!"

Taiyang cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "Okay, I know I didn't hit you _that_ hard."

"My eggs aren't scrambled, calm down." Qrow rolled his eyes. "You've beaten me up, so what? You think that'll change anything?"

"No, I…" Taiyang sighed heavily, finally lowering his stance and calming down. "I'm sorry for before, alright?"

Qrow looked and saw sincere honesty in the other's words. Of course he did, he was the father of his two nieces. "Yeah, sure."

All things considered, he did have a pretty good view of the shattered moon that hanged low in the sky above.

Taiyang sat down next to him and mimicked his position on the ground, lying down in the dirt, arms spread, and just looking up aimlessly at the moon.

"The girls miss you all the time you know." Tiayang said, still looking up at the shattered moon.

 _All the time?_ Qrow shrugged. "I can't imagine why. I'm not much of a role model or anything."

"Clearly," Taiyang took a shot there. "But that's not what's important. You know what is?"

"If you give me some cheesy 'family is important' speech, I'm jumping off the cliff." Qrow quipped.

Taiyang wanted to punch him again. "Alright, fine. How about we make a deal instead?"

Qrow cocked an eyebrow at Taiyang. "Go on…"

* * *

Ruby sat patiently on the front porch, looking towards the seaside cliffs her uncle and father had go towards hours earlier. Yang insisted she'd come inside before, but Ruby was resilient, even if it was past her bed time. Zwei rested soundly her lap, keeping an extra eye and nose out for her.

Ruby felt like dossing off for a minute until Zwei perked up and gave Ruby a small nudge with his paw.

"Is it them, boy?" Ruby asked. The fluffy lap dog gave an affirmative gruff.

She squinted as she looked down the road and could see two familiar figures walking together towards the house. She and Zwei jumped up together and hurried to meet the two.

"Uncle Qrow! Dad! What took you so – Oh my gosh!"

They looked terrible. Clothes ripped, bruises and cuts all over. To Ruby it looked like they got thrown into some cogs and gears and were lucky to make it out in one piece.

Qrow and Tiayang gave each other looks before later jumped in. "We, um, fell of some rocks…" Tiayang said weekly.

Qrow looked back at him and silently gave him a look that clearly said, _really?_

"It was a long drop." Qrow added. "Nothing serious."

Ruby's genuine look of worry made both of the men feel terrible. "Are you sure you're…"

"It's find," Qrow gave a dismissive wave to the matter. "We got out of it with only a few bumps and scrapes."

"Well… if you say so," Ruby said. With an awkward pause ensuing.

Tiayang looked at Qrow again with an unspoken question. Qrow replied with another question before Tiayang subtly elbowed him in the ribs.

Qrow cleared his throat. "So, Ruby, your dad and I did some _talking_ and he had mentioned you wanted to show me something."

Ruby's cheeks perked up with a blush. "Well, yeah, I mean… there's just a little something." She suddenly looked like a fire cracker about to go off. "It's in the barn if… if you got a minute."

"Sure thing kid," He grinned.

Qrow followed Ruby, leaving Tiayang to wonder if his plan was going to work out or not. A few days, that was the deal he made with Qrow, stay for a few days, talk with the girls some, and he would drop the issue of him being away for too long a time.

The rest was up to Ruby then, he knew.

Zwei jumped up on his hind legs and put his front paws on Taiyang's knee. He barked a question at the other with a serious look in his doggy eyes.

"I did kind of swung first, yeah." Taiyang admitted, scratching the back of his head. "We got into it pretty fast and there wasn't much time to think."

Zwei gave a few disappointed barks back.

"She's too young to get caught up in all this. I don't like lying to my daughter, ya know."

Zwei huffed and fell back to all fours. He spun around and used his hind legs to kick dirt onto Taiyang's legs.

Taiyang rolled his eyes at the dog. "And you're calling me immature."

* * *

The barn, also known as Ruby's workshop, was still a colossal mess. Qrow saw all sorts gears, mechanisms, spare parts, and general scrap metal littered everywhere. The explosion had knocked everything around and turned the place into a maze of junk and debris.

"It's over here!" Ruby said, all giddy with excitement, as she led Qrow by the hand through the maze. Near the back there was a workbench with a red stool next to it and a large lamp hanging over it. Ruby jumped up on the stool in order to reach the lamp switch to flick it on.

The bright light blurred Qrow's vision for a second, but as it cleared he could see just what exactly Ruby has been working on.

"Is that… _a weapon?_ " Qrow began with hint of genuine surprise.

"Yup," Ruby picked up the weapon, a greyish colored rectangular contraption. "It's not finished yet but…" She flipped a switch and a handle _popped_ out of the side of it. "I was able to get the transformation mechanism to work, for the most part." The rest of the weapon unfolded and extended outwards, relying on a serious of complex mechanisms all functioning in perfect unison. It formed a long curved blade on the end, turning it into a scythe.

"You built that all by yourself?" Qrow asked curiously, admiring the complexity of the weapon's transformation.

"Yeah." Ruby began, looking at the scythe she had built. "I remember the time you saved Yang and I from the Grimm. I saw how you used your scythe to fight back the Beowolves and I wanted to use something just like it when I fought the Grimm someday." She slowly, carefully, flipped the weapon around in her hands and presented it to Qrow. "So… what do you think?"

Qrow picked up the weapon, it felt surprisingly light, he thought, and yet very sturdy. The materials it was forged from were top notch, there's no doubt that. But the rest…

"It looks like a solid weapon." He admitted, giving it a flip of the hand to feel its balance. "But it needs work. For starters, I can tell the large-bore barrel isn't weighted properly. Anything you shoot out of it is going to be way off target. That's assuming the firing pin actually stays aligned after transformations." He pulled back the bolt-action on the rifle portion of the weapon. "Just as I thought, needs more work on the round ejector as well."

Ruby twirled her fingers nervously. "Well, I did say wasn't not finished yet."

"Yeah, no kidding." He examined it some more. "You were hoping to get a few tips on scythes, right?"

Ruby nodded.

"Well, suppose I could." Qrow shrugged, tossing the _dangerous_ weapon back to Ruby, who stumbled with it as she tried to catch it. "I can't have my niece swinging around a half finished weapon."

"Does that mean you'll help me finish Crescent Rose?" Ruby asked.

Qrow cocked an eyebrow. "It has a name, huh?" He grinned and patted Ruby on the head. "It sure does kid, we're going to start from the ground up okay? Let's me see how fast you can disassemble her."

Ruby Rose smiled grew wide as she set the weapon down and jumped into Qrows for a hug.

"What's this for?" He asked, not knowing what to do other than to stand there awkwardly.

"Oh you know," She said with a cheek pressed against his chest and eyes closed. "Just really glad you came home."

"Oh," He said. What did he ever do to deserve such affection, he wondered. Perhaps, Qrow thought, what Taiyang had said earlier was more than a half-truth after all. Ruby did miss him, more than he had ever imagined. "I guess I had to come back at some time."

* * *

A/N: So sorry for the long wait this time around.

I found this particular chapter's dialogue a bit hard to push through, what with expressing precise emotion and all. Any who, I hope you're okay with how it turned out, since I've scrapped and restarted the silly thing a few times. At one point I was writing about Yang butting in between Qrow and Taiyang during their fight. I decided to save that possibility for later. To be honest I feel that I may come back later and update some (a lot actually) of the wording here. I really just want to push onto into the cooler parts of this story. I hope you can over look this for now.

I keep progress updates on my profile page, for whoever wants to know how soon my next chapter update or other works come out.

And as always, thank you so much for reading.


	4. Cookies & Grimm

**Part 4 - Cookies & Grimm**

Qrow stretched his arms widely as he took in a large breath of outdoors air.

"You ready for this kid?"

The other nodded her head, a determined look glowing in her silver eyes. A look he recognized all too well.

"Aright then," He dropped a hand down to his sword and lifted it from its holster. With a ' _vroom'_ it came to life, doubling in length to take its sword transformation. He lifted the weapon in a single handed guard stance, and then, with a cocky smile, rested his right arm behind his back.

Ruby noticed the gesture. She would be grateful that he was going to spare with her at minus his dominant arm, but still. She wanted this to be a more challenging first fight.

Ruby mimicked her uncle's movements. She dropped a hand down to her weapon that rested in its holster around the small of her back. She easily found the ignition switch and flipped it as she whorled the weapon around to the front. Its transformation was swift and smooth, thanks to some help from her opponent. The weapon more than tripled in length before forming a scythe's head at the end of a long staff.

Finally, Ruby thought, _this_ was a scythe!

"We'll show him," She whispered mostly to herself. She held the weapon tightly in both hands, pulling the head of it back to prepare for a lunging strike.

"Hmm," Qrow grinned. "Taking the first move? Gutsy."

"Yeah," She returned the grin. "It's what you would've done right?"

 _She had a point_. "Come on then. If you're going to-"

Faster than one could snap their fingers, Ruby closed the distance between them to put Qrow perfectly within Crescent Rose's reach.

 _Fast!_ Qrow barely had time to tilt his blade at the right angle to block the speed-augmented blow. The familiar sound of metal on metal _clanged_ across the hills, sending a vibration down his arm.

Ruby disengaged and used her weapon's superior reach to send a flurry of swings at Qrow.

He dodged and parried with ease, as they weren't coming at him like bullet trains like the one from before. He took note that Ruby's semblance isn't so easily applied to smaller movement such as weapon swings. At least, not _yet_ they aren't.

"I gotta say kid," Qrow commented as he beat back scythe swings. "That surprised me a little."

"Thanks!" She replied cheerfully, between huffs of breath. "I call it the 'Rose Bullet.' Neat huh?"

"Naming your moves?" Qrow chuckled. "I remember doing that when I was your age. Although, mine were _waaaaay_ cooler than yours."

"Oh yeah?" She remarked, beads of sweat already forming on her forehead. "Show me!"

She swept low to try to catch him by the ankles. Qrow saw through her move before she could even make it, he leapt up and jumped off her weapons blade as if it were a spring board. He summersaulted midair and then landed behind his opponent.

"I remember calling _this one_ ," He raised his sword high and let a surge of aura flow into it. The blade glimmered with a thin veil of energy. " _Sonic Scream!_ " A narrow, bright wave of compressed air and energy rolled of the blade and hurtled towards Ruby.

"Whoa!" She jumped left to avoid it, even though Qrow had aimed it off center to help her avoid it better. She hit the grass with a thud and the ' _sonic scream'_ cut right through the ground, leaving behind a faint trail of displaced earth and grass.

"Neat, huh?" Qrow rested his weapon on his left shoulder. "When your father and I fought as youngsters, that move always gave him the most trouble."

Ruby leapt the guess and got back to her fighting stance. "That was awesome! You gotta teach me the _Sonic Scream_ sometime!"

 _Now she's going to keep calling it that now._ Qrow sighed. _Well she is just a kid._ _Let her have fun._

"Maybe," Qrow said. "But a better question is, are ya good enough to learn it?"

"Am I?" Ruby cocked her weapon, putting a live round into its newly designed chamber. "Watch this!"

She aimed the gun barrel behind her and fired, using the recoil to boost herself forward, on top of a semblance speed boast. She was twice as fast now!

"Oh sh-oot!" Qrow almost said something else there. He had no choice but to take it head on, no time to dodge.

He used his blade to shield himself from his niece's violent upswing, feeling a great deal of pressure on his wrist.

Ruby on the other hand didn't fare so well as she lost her balance after making contact and her footing. She tumbled backwards, lost her grip on Crescent Rose, and landed on her back a few meters away.

"Oh no," Qrow breathed. The kid's too strong for her own good, he thought. He rushed over to kneel down at her side. "Easy their kid, don't go digging that grave just yet."

Ruby was seeing stars and corgis dancing around her head. "Soooooo fast…" She said with swirls in her eyes.

Qrow breathed a sigh of relief. "So what would you call that one? _'Rose Suicide'_ or how about _'Never-Doing-That-Again'?_ "

"Uhhhh," Ruby shook off the stars and corgis. "I figured it would surprise you enough for me to get a good hit on you." Qrow helped her sit up. "Maybe I mixed in too much dust into the ammo,"

"Maybe," Qrow said as he brushed blades of grass off of her head. "Using the recoil on top of your semblance is pretty smart. And dangerous. If you live long enough, we can try working on it together."

"Really?" Ruby squeaked. "You mean it?"

Qrow shrugged. "Sure, just so I can make sure you don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

Ruby smiled for a moment but Qrow picked up on a hint of sadness. His mentioning of him being gone reminded her that all of this wasn't going to last forever.

"Anyways," Qrow desperately tried to change the subject. "Let's take a break. You're pretty strong for a kid, but you blew all your stamina on those few swings. It's something you gotta build up as you grow."

"Right, gotta work on that." She said, still a little dazed, but with a raised thumb for assurance.

With the help of her uncle, Ruby picked herself up and went up to the house, where her father had been watching from the front porch.

Taiyang let his daughter go inside without a word, noting the hint of gloom in her eyes. Qrow followed soon after, stopping at the porch.

Taiyang sighed. "You know, when Yang was that age, her kite got stuck in a tree. It made her so upset that she knocked the whole tree down with a single hit." A small smile appeared. "That's when I knew I needed to start training her to be a huntress."

"Sounds about right," Qrow remarked as he fished out his flask from his pocket. "And now the other's faster than an actual bullet. You're going to have your hands full with the two of them."

Taiyang nodded in agreement. "Yeah, about that…"

Qrow stopped mid gulp. "About what?" He asked suspiciously.

Taiyang scratched the back of his head. "Look Qrow, you can see how much Ruby likes having you around. This past week you've help her build her first weapon, showed her how to use it some, and-"

Taiyang stopped when Qrow shot him a sharp look. He put up a hand to quell the other. "All I'm getting at is, you should consider doing some more training with her."

Qrow breathed in deeply and sighed. "You know why that's a bad idea."

"I don't actually," Taiyang retorted. "You'd be a perfect teacher for her. I mean, what do I know about scythes?"

"Huh, yeah, what do you know about anything?" Qrow snarled.

The tone shift was as palpable as the change in wind. Taiyang furrowed his brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Qrow finished a large sip before continuing. "If you were in on it, Ozpin would tell you. He'd tell you all about what's really out there, beyond the reach of most huntsmen. I know I may sound overdramatic in saying this, but I _need_ to go back."

"But if Ozpin were to-"

"Taiyang!" Qrow glared. "I've held up my end of the deal, you'd best do the same."

The sudden urge to bury his fist into the others face nearly overwhelmed Taiyang, but he let calm emotions prevail.

"Alright," Taiyang finally said. "At least, just give the girls one more night. It'll make them happy to have dinner together before you head out."

Qrow nodded. "That's fair, but by the next morning, I need to get going."

"Fine then, if that's the case, I best be getting everything ready for tonight." He turned to go inside but stopped suddenly at the door. "Oh, that's right…"

Qrow cocked a brow. "Forget something?"

"Yeah…" Taiyang pinched the bridge of his nose. "I was supposed to clear out some Grimm that have popped up in the Ash Woods recently. I've been putting it off so I could spend time here with you and the girls."

"Hmm, not a good idea to leave that alone for long." Qrow commented. "Ash Woods huh, it's been awhile since I've hunted there."

"You mean…?"

"Yeah, I'll have the place cleared out before I take off here." Qrow was quick to say, as he turned towards the road.

"Wait, Qrow." Taiyang said with a raised hand.

Qrow waved behind him as he walked away. "I'll be back before dinner, I promise." He looked over his shoulder and gave him a confident smile. "Unlike you school teacher folk, I do this sort of thing all the time."

Taiyang sighed in defeat. It was already the beginning of the end, as he could see Qrow was already falling back to his usual pace in life.

* * *

The Ash Woods were appropriately named so for all of the dead, burnt up trees that stood silently still like gravestones for miles. Long ago in Patch's history, a swarm of Grimm gathering in the forest threatened to kill off the early settlers, and in their desperation, had set fire to the entire forest. The Grimm that survived the blaze would later be cut down by Huntsmen from the then newly formed Beacon Academy. Since then though, the forest had never grown back, and no one has ever dared to enter it without caution. Grimm still had a tendency to show up every now and then, leaving it to the local Huntsmen who taught at Signal Academy to occasionally thin the herd.

Qrow has many memories of the forest. He and his sister would always run off and play in the graveyard of a forest. None of the stories or Grimm scared them. They were definitely an eccentric couple of kids.

How times have changed though…

Qrow took a sip from his flask and let the liquid snap him back to attention. This may be small-fry work but he shouldn't to get caught up in his past when dealing with Grimm.

He was well within the forest and yet no Grimm in sight. Odd, though, they usually gather together in certain areas, Qrow knew. Perhaps, he wondered, he would have to get to the heart of the Ash Woods. Thought would actually put him close to where Yang and Ruby had once gone…

The sound of a snapping twig quickly brought him back to attention. Looks like he wouldn't have to go that far after all.

The sound came from his six o'clock direction. He spun around and pulled out his weapon in one fluid motion.

"Come on out, I ain't going to hurt ya much." With the turning of gears, he flipped the sword into its gun form, aiming the barrels at the cluster of dead trees he heard the noise originate from.

 _"Eep!"_

 _'Eep'? Grimm don't go 'eep'._ Qrow thought. But then suddenly he realized what does go ' _eep_ ' when they have a gun pointed at them. _Teenage girls._

"Ruby!" Qrow called out. "Did you seriously follow me out here?"

A little red hood popped out from behind one of the trees. "Umm, _maybe_?" She said nervously as she pressed her index fingers together.

Qrow put a hand over his face and groaned. " _Tai is going to punch me dead."_

He put his weapon away and walked up to Ruby, who stood like a statue with her hood pulled over her head. Qrow reached out and pulled back the other's hood to see her face.

What he saw was an innocent expression filled with nervousness and worry, but not a hint of fear.

"What are you doing here, kid?" Qrow asked as he looked down at his niece.

Ruby continued her stone statue impression for a few more moments before finally cracking. She closed the small gap between them with a strong hug and buried her face in his torso.

"I just wanted to spend more time with you…"

Someone must've shot him in the heart while he wasn't looking, otherwise it was that one little line that shook him to his core.

"Look, Ruby," He began, giving her time to look up to meet his eyes. "I wasn't going to just take off without saying goodbye."

"But you are leaving though," Ruby said, water starting to build up in the corners of her eyes. "I heard you and dad talking."

Qrow needed a double shot of pure alcohol fast. "It's just... I..." Words were of no use. How could he ever put it into terms his little niece could understand. If Taiyang wasn't hard enough to talk straight with, Ruby was just near impossible. How could he ever say something like, _sorry kid, that's just how it is._

After moments of standing there, letting his niece softly cry into him, he finally found the courage to speak up.

"Hey, Ruby,"

"Yeah Uncle Qrow," She said with a small sniffle and a little red on her cheeks.

"Why do you want to be a huntress?"

Ruby didn't expect any sort of question like that. It took her only a moment though, despite her current state, to formulate an answer.

"I want to help people," She said honesty stronger than steel. "If there's a difference I could make in other people's lives by being a huntress, I'll put my life on the line to make it happen."

Qrow blinked a few times. "That's probably one of the best reasons for being a huntsman I've ever heard." He patted her head. "You wanna know why I became a huntsman though?"

She nodded a reply.

"To protect those around me, the people I can't live without." He sighed, a painful agony in his voice. "In the end though, that didn't keep some those people from... going..." Make that a triple shot now with extra everything in it.

"Someone's got to be out there, ready and waiting for what pops up next." Qrow continued. "That someone is often myself. But just know that I'm always thinking of you girls."

For once, Qrow decided to finally complete the hug between him and Ruby. The smaller one only squeezed tighter.

"Hey Uncle Qrow," Ruby began, her voice muffled from inside his chest.

They finally parted and Qrow could now see a new look come across Ruby's face. A look of determination.

"When I become a huntress, can I come with you on your missions?"

Ten tons of something hit Qrow square on the head. "Huh? I don't know kid," He hesitated for a moment. "You wouldn't like the sort things I'm caught up in." _Deflect and dodge Qrow, deflect and dodge!_ There was no way he'd get his niece involved in his work with Ozpin.

"Yeah, well," She pulled her hands behind her back in a sweet and innocent posture. "That way you wouldn't be as lonely out there."

 _Deflect and..._ _Oh dust._ "Maybe kid," He finally said, after holding his breath for as long as he could withstand. "Just... grow up some first okay? You don't need to worry about that sort thing just yet."

"But I do worry about _it_ , and you too." She protested.

"I said you don't have to worry about it," Qrow softly repeated. "Just focus on being a kid and growing up, there will be plenty of time to save the world together afterwards."

 _Fast both in body and in life_. Qrow cracked a smile. "One thing you should be worrying about right now is if your dad finds out where you ran off to." He added.

"Oh, yeah... that would be a problem." Ruby gulped. "Well, it's a good thing I was able to sneak out faster than anyone could see... I guess." Suddenly Ruby began to think of all of the possible punishments her dad could bestow upon her if she gets caught. The worst possibility of all being he puts a lock on the cookie jar and throws away the key! _Not the cookies!_

Qrow blinked and wondered what was racing through that head of hers that made her face go so pale all of the sudden.

"Alright then," He motioned for her to follow him. "Let's get you home, there aren't any Grimm around these parts for me to slay anyhow."

"Awww," Ruby protested, but followed nonetheless. "I had Crescent Rose loaded up and everything too. You sure we can't stay and find one Grimm for me to test her on?"

Qrow had a good chuckle from that. "Geez, already thinking of your first kill? Slow down a little, before you get in way over your..."

Qrow's words left him as he came to a dead stop.

"Yeah, I know." Ruby went on, not noticing the pause. "It's just-"

Qrow reached out and clamped a hand on Ruby's shoulder, stopping her also. Before she could give a question, Qrow raised a hand and made a 'quiet' gesture by pressing his index finger against his lips.

The air was uncomfortably still as Qrow's sense picked up on something that brewed around them. Something that his decades of experience was all too familiar with. _Bloodlust._

"Ruby," Qrow said very lowly, not moving an inch. "Do not be afraid. I promise, everything will be alright."

Ruby nodded slowly, a brave face shown but still a small hint of worry. Whether it was worry for himself of her, Qrow couldn't tell. But now wasn't the time to think about that, or think about anything at all. It was time for his battle instincts to finally kick in.

With a steady hand, he reached for his weapon's hilt, and released the trigger on it.

The sudden ' _vroom'_ shattered the silence, and was swiftly followed by a thunderous roar from behind.

He spun, as fast as he could, and blasted a Beowolf directly in its snout before it could finish its leap towards the pair. He kept one arm across Ruby to shield her from any possible harm. The creature of Grimm was dead before it ate the dirt, coming to a stop just paces away from their feet.

But that was hardly the start of them. The rest of the pack, hidden well and surrounding them, began to howl viciously, as if to signal the end of their pack mate, or the humans that stood before them.

Normally he'd top off with a drink before continuing, but with Ruby at his side, he felt he'd need every ounce of sober he could muster, and throw it all right at the beast who dared to try to lay a claw on his precious niece.

"Stay close Ruby," Qrow felt a flare light up in his left eye, the same usual feeling he gets whenever he took a fight as seriously as he possibly could. He initiated his sword to transform one more time, taking its deadliest form as the scythe he's used to kill thousands of Grimm over his career.

Ruby watched as Qrow stood between her and the Beowolves that slowly approached from the trees around them. In that moment, as she saw Qrow ready to fight with everything he had to protect her, she felt a similar feeling come over her.

She turned, lining her back against Qrow's, and grabbed the handle of Crescent Rose. She willed the weapon to transform and take a scythe form that was very much like Qrow's weapon. With a twirl, she held the weapon at the ready, not an ounce of fear left within herself.

"Ruby, don't!" Qrow exclaimed over his shoulder. "Let me handle this."

"I'll watch your back and you can watch mine," She looked back towards him with a wink. "That's what partners do right?"

Qrow felt it in that look she gave him. She was ready for a real hunt. "Alright fine, we don't have time to argue about it anyhow." Up ahead the pack finally began to surge forward, a black mass of red eyes and claws gunning towards their throats. "Do _not_ tell your father a thing about this." Qrow gave one final remark. "He'd seriously kill me if he ever found out."

Ruby smiled and nodded before jamming her scythe blade into the ground and pulling the trigger on the first Grimm that came up in her crosshairs.

* * *

A/N: So sorry about the wait. Things kept getting busy for me. But I'm back on the ball now and I expect the final chapter to be coming up after this one. With the ending of RWBY Volume 3, I now have tons of ideas for new fics. Once this one wraps up I'll move one to said new ideas. Anyways, thank you so much for reading this so far. I hope you all are enjoying the story as much as I am.


	5. Family & Hope, Part 1

**A/N; Alright, let me first start off by apologizing for how long this took. I really should've been able to write this faster, but I suppose I shouldn't give excuses. Any ways, this is just the first part of the final chapter. I had to split this up into two parts as I thought a 7k chapter would've been too much of a read. So, please forgive me for the delay, and I hope you enjoy your read :)**

* * *

 **Part 5 - Family & Hope 1**

"Come on then!" The grizzled huntsman roared, attracting as much attention from the horde as possible with an outburst of anger. The Grimm are particularly more attracted to anger than other negative emotions, Qrow knew, and made himself into bait.

A fair majority of the Beowolves made B-lines at him, in what seemed like overwhelming numbers. It was exactly what Qrow had hoped for.

"Okay kid," Qrow called over his shoulder as he readies his scythe. "Pick off the ones that don't come towards me! Keep your distance!"

"Yes sir!" Ruby instantly responded.

Qrow charged forward, channel as much anger as he could muster into a fearsome battle cry. The Grimm were drawn greatly by it, their jaws opening wide as several went in for the kill.

Qrow relieved those eager several of their heads. The Grimm began to pile up as he slew more and more of them with calculated brutality. He's faced numbers greater than these before, singlehandedly as well, but for this time though, he wasn't alone.

As he drew more blood from the beast, he could hear the audible blast of Crescent Rose as Ruby skillfully placed shots in several Grimm. Unfortunately, her aim wasn't perfect yet, and only landing glancing blows had kept a few Grimm off of her at the moment. Her speed came in handy for making distancing between her targets.

"How you holding up kid!" Qrow leapt over a rather large Beowulf, catching its head from underneath with his scythe's blade and wrenching it clean off.

"Just fine!" She replied hastily, and noticed a Grimm approach her uncle from behind. She swiftly pulled Crescent Rose to her front and put a dust round into the creature's right leg. Qrow took its head off a split second afterwards.

"Don't worry about me!" Qrow warned. "Keep your eyes on the other Grimm!" He had said as he swatted away another row of Grimm.

Ruby nodded, before suddenly feeling a breath crawl down her neck. Silver eyes widened to their fullest, Ruby spun to find a lone Beowulf preparing to strike with its claws. She ducked, pushing her semblance to its fullest, and bolted between its legs.

The Grimm spun around and charged after her. Her hasty retreat left her tumbling on the ground, resulting in a loss of footing. She managed to slide into a crouched position and let loose a barrage of dust rounds. The shots were low due to her unusual firing position, only finding their marks in the Grimm's legs. The creature only stumbled and tripped, still moving forward though.

Ruby grimaced and tried to fire at the Beowulf's head, but when she pulled Crescent Rose's trigger, nothing but a sharp click came from the firing chamber.

" _Empty?_ " She gasped. Only a dummy like her would forget to count her rounds. She quickly rose to her feet and looked for a better position to retreat to. She found none though, as there were now even more Grimm than before, all spilling forth from the dead trees that surrounded them. Most of the reinforcements went after Qrow, who was having an increasingly difficult time in slaying them all, while some started to lurk towards Ruby, who already had the injured Beowulf approaching her to deal with.

She was corned, and Qrow was locked in his own battle.

Maybe she was afraid now, but she couldn't tell. She was too focused on the present to pay any mind to her own self. If she were to fall in battle now, Qrow would either lose himself completely or lose the will to keep fighting. Either way, she wasn't going to let any of that happen!

"You can count on me," She whispered. The injured Grimm from before was finally close enough to lunge at her with what little use of its legs it still had. Ruby too lunged forward, silver eyes ablaze with courage and determination.

"No, Ruby stop!" Qrow yelled desperately as he held up the weight of two Beowolves who pressed their claws down on her scythe, locking him in that position. Another one came from behind and sunk its teeth into his right shoulder. His aura buzzed and he could feel the painful pressure tighten around his bones.

"Get." He snarled. "Off." His knuckles cracked loudly. "Of." His left eye turned a burning crimson, and went ablaze. "ME!"

Through sheer power alone, Qrow boosted his aura around him and repulsed the Grimm on top of him and the one on his shoulder. They flew back, and then where cut down in a mere instant.

Qrow swiftly turned around. " _Ruby!"_

He wasn't going to get to her in time, he knew, as he raced towards her. She had already made her move.

Ruby blocked one sweep of the injured Grimm's claws with her weapon and narrowly ducked underneath a second attack. The Grimm then went for a biting blow, only to have its jaw bite into the shaft of Crescent Rose.

She stood there for a brief eternity, looking directly into the creatures red eyes of darkness and hate as she struggled to keep it at bay.

"What big eyes you have," She murmured through gritted teeth.

The Beowulf, as if to give insult, snarled back. She caught the warning and quickly loaded a dust round with the creature's mouth still over her weapon.

The Grimm was reading to grab her with its claws when Ruby popped a round into the chamber pulled the trigger on her weapon, rocketing Crescent Rose to the side and cutting off the Beowulf's jaw.

It stumbled back, reeling, in pain, and without a mouth. Ruby jumped forward for the kill, offering as much mercy to it as it had to her. Absolutely none.

She went for a downwards chop through its left shoulder, but her swing was too weak to make it through the creature, having stopped just a few inches into its body.

 _I'm doing a hundred pushes every day after this_. Ruby thought as she entered another round into her weapon's chamber. The Beowulf, despite being almost in mere pieces, managed to give off a final snarl of defiance.

"Goodbye," Ruby said, not even with a touch of malice or discontent. She pulled the trigger, and Crescent Rose's blade exploded through the Grimm, leaving a trail of rose petals in its wake. The Beowulf was finally down for the count as it began to dissolve before Ruby's eyes.

"Kid!"

Ruby snapped to and found her uncle sailing past her and slicing a Grimm behind her into two pieces.

"That was a sloppy first kill," Qrow said with a gruff between short breathes. "But at least ya pulled through." He cracked a small grin.

"Well, you _are_ my teacher though," Ruby quipped back, also with a grin.

Qrow gave a weak chuckle but couldn't find the time for a witty rebuttal.

The Beowolves had begun to surround them again in a perfect circle of black death, keeping their distance and likely preparing to charge in all at once. There numbers had swelled to beyond a few hundred, Qrow estimated. It was number that even he, by himself, wouldn't trifle with.

 _This was bad._

Qrow looked over his shoulder at Ruby, who stood at his back as she reloaded her scythe. The way she stood, and the she held her weapon, told Qrow she was beyond brave. She must know by now that the odds are well against them, that fighting all of these Grimm by themselves was a futile effort. She must've known, and yet…

Qrow released one bruised hand from his weapon, felt the soreness jet through his arm as he moved it, and reached for his flask in his pocket. He stopped, though, when his finger tip touched the cap of it in his pocket.

 _No_ , he thought. _This time it's different_.

He turned to Ruby, amid the howls, snarls, and blood curdling roars, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Listen kid," He started, feeling the words weighing him down. "I'm going to make an opening in the pack. It'll give you enough room to speed out of here and-"

"Uncle Qrow, _no_." Ruby began, for the first time he could see worry and fear form in her eyes.

He put up his hand to hush her. "Hey, don't go all teary eyed on me." He said with a forced harshness.

"I'm not some push over, I can hold these dogs off easy." That was a lie. "Long enough for you to find your dad and the other huntsmen on Patch and bring them back here." Also a lie. He showed a forced grin. "I'm fine on my own." The biggest lie of all.

"No," Ruby shook her head. "I can't just…"

" _I'm not going die Ruby!"_ Qrow shot at her as he found her concern for him to be actually frustrating. "I'm going to get you out of here and home safely." He pointed sharply at the wall. "I strike, you run. If you don't run, I'm going to hurl you as far as I can, clear across this blasted forest."

"Liar!"

The word went through his heart like a dull knife. It hurt more than his wounds.

He sighed deeply, and let some of the pain roll out of him. "Yeah, what about it? You think I can't take these jokers?"

"You promised… we'd go on missions together." She said, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. "When I was older… _you promised…_ "

"I told you maybe… after you grew up first…"

The Grimm weren't going to wait forever, he knew, and if he didn't make his move first, then…

"And you can't do that by dying here. Remember what I said about my reason for becoming a huntsman, so I can protect those who can't live without." He paused, took in a big breath of air to build up his strength. "And that includes you kid."

He grabbed Ruby by the belt and raised her off the ground with ease.

"Wait, what are you doing!?" Ruby squirmed against the suddenness of being lifted off the ground and over Qrow's head.

"Getting you out of here kid. Trying keep your arms up when you hit the ground."

"NO! Stop it! Don't-" Ruby screamed and kicked, as it was now evident to her that Qrow was serious about sending her flying out of the forest.

Qrow did his best to drown out her protest, her kicking and punching, as she tried feebly to break free from his iron grasp. He needed to put a lot of his remaining strength into this one throw, which most certainty would've left him pretty helpless when the Grimm all charge. But at least Ruby will live and that's all that-

Qrow suddenly heard a gunshot and mere instance afterwards his grip broke on Ruby's belt. She had used Crescent Rose's recoil to break free! She tumbled a few meters back, with Qrow jumping after her to stop her from falling any closer to the encircling Grimm.

"Damn it, Ruby!" Qrow roared, cradling her in one arm and raising his sword with the other in case the gunshot had set off any Grimm to charge. They seemed to inch closer but none advanced on their own.

"I'm getting you out of here even if-"

Qrow was interrupted when Ruby slapped him across the cheek with all of her strength. It actually left a mark.

"If I can't even protect my own family then what's the point!" Ruby yelled back, Qrow wide eyed and mouth hung open. "Why bother being a huntress if I can't save my own uncle from his stupid self!"

She jumped out of his arm and stood on her own two feet, weapon in hand, as she starred down the Grimm. "When I become a huntress, I'm going to protect Remnant with my heart and soul. But before I can get there, I'm going to save you first." She looked over her shoulder, and sent a sharp eyed look to him that went right through him. "Whether you like it or not, we're getting out of this together!"

Qrow couldn't help but be astonished by her sudden display. Was this really the little girl he saved from the Grimm all those years ago? Or was she already all grown up?

"You know kid," Qrow said after a long pause. "You are a whole like your dad." He stood next to her and raised his weapon in the same direction Ruby had pointed hers. "You both been preaching the same thing to me ever since I got back." He put on a small grin as he pulled back the bangs of his hair to get them out of his eyes. "And you both seem to like hitting me in the head."

"Must run in the family then," Ruby smirked back. "What do we do now?"

Qrow nodded towards the Grimm they faced. "We go straight through, as fast and hard as possible, and hope we both make it to the other side. I can't guarantee that'll work out though."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure we'll be fine." She smiled brightly, despite all that has happened up until that point. "I'm the apprentice of Remnant's greatest huntsman, so that's gotta count for something."

"Greatest huntsman?" Qrow smiled back. "I liked the sound of that." He chuckled, as it really was ironic, calling him great, despite him being so lost for years.

It looked like the Grimm weren't going to wait any longer, as even a beast can't wait forever for a kill. They all approached at once, making the circle around the huntsman and apprentice smaller and smaller as they advanced.

"Get ready Ruby," Qrow whispered as he felt a new flame light within his very soul.

And as the two got ready to fight with all they've got, a sudden explosion near the rear of the pack caught their attention. Another explosion sent several Grimm flying off, covered in orange and red fire.

"What the hell?" Qrow commented with a raised eyebrow.

Ruby's eyes widened to their fullest as she gave a small gasp. "That can only be one person…" She then sighed and slouched in her stance. "And I'm in so much trouble too…"

Before Qrow could give a question, a familiar voice came across the forest.

"Dad! This way, I found them!" The voice of Yang Xia Long rang out.

"You and me both kid, you and me both." Qrow sighed with relief and dread. "Your dad's going to kill me."

"And my sister is going to kill me." Ruby remarked. "No cookies for a month probably." She said with a deep dread, in all seriousness.

Qrow would've added to the back and forth quipping they had going on, but the frenzied Grimm took precedence.

"Look alive kid, we're pushing through!" Qrow yelled as he pushed his aura into his scythe's blade. He swung it through the air and made a wave of sonic energy that impacted the Grimm immediately in front of them. Ruby followed suite with a volley of sniper rounds.

The two moved forward, towards the sounds of Yang and were she was fighting. Qrow took up a vanguard position and swept away the Beowolves in droves as they leapt and dodged closer and closer to their sudden arrival.

"Yang!" Ruby called out as she decapitated the last Beowulf that separated the sisters.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed as she punched a Beowulf's snout through its skull. She ran over to her little sister and put her in a bear hug, as if to suffocate her almost.

"Why the heck are you out here!? No way are you ready to take on Grimm!"

"Guhhh, sis… stop it…" Ruby tried to speak but found her face buried deeply into Yang's chest.

Qrow slashed a Grimm in half and hurried over to eviscerate another that had charged at the two sisters.

"You two can talk later. Yang, where's your father?"

Yang released Ruby and placed herself as best as she could between her sister and the Grimm.

"Not that far behind. He should be here soon."

As if on cue, a large tree exploded behind them and fell swiftly upon a group of unsuspecting Grimm. They all howled in anguish as the rather large tree crushed their bodies with an audible _crunch_. Standing on top of the fallen tree was a man with more rage in his eyes than any one currently alive. Many of the Grimm felt his presence and were drawn to it.

"Oh wow," Qrow remarked. "That's one angry dragon."

Tiayang starred the Grimm that were now moving towards him. "All of you bastards," He growled between gritted teeth. "Get away from my daughter!" Long slits formed in his blue eyes and a golden sheen lit from his hair as an explosive force emitted from his body. Any Grimm within a few meters of him was immediately set on fire. They wailed as they could nothing to quell the flames on their bodies.

He dived right into the Grimm as he exhibited his exceptional strength and speed. Every time he punched a Grimm, an explosion busted through them and came out on the other side of their bodies. Tiayang Xia Long was known for not fighting with a weapon at Beacon, as he'd usually prefer his own strength and aura over any weapon.

"Wow," Ruby's jaw would've hit the ground if it wasn't attached to her skull. "I didn't know dad could transform too."

Yang smirked and crossed her arms together. "That's where I get it from." All of the fighting she had to do to reach Ruby has given her more than enough energy to release her own transformation. She too took on a golden sheen and her eyes became a crimson red.

Letting loose a roar of her own, Yang leapt into the fray to her father's side. The golden duo carved into the pack of Grimm like lightning in a storm. That didn't stop the Beowolves from fighting on, despite having the tables turned on them.

"Well then," Qrow began. "Looks like it's a family brawl now." He nudged Ruby on the shoulder, letting her know, with the whole family there now, that they can rest assure that they'll make it home together.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded. "Let's back them up!"

The two caped scythe wielders leapt forward together and engaged the remaining Grimm, who were now scattered and disorganized, having lost their organization and advantage in strength.

Ruby continued to use Crescent Rose's recoil to assist in running through the Grimm as Qrow cleaved through the Grimm using his weapon's sword form and shotgun to great effect.

Yang and Tiayang fought in tandem, showing off their many years as master and apprentice, in the art of punching things really, really hard. The more the two fought, the more their hair and eyes glowed with energy.

The fighting dragged on for many minutes, but the family of fighters never wavered. It's been years since Qrow has felt the way he did now, it was as if he was fighting alongside Team STRQ once again. Well, with the kids there, it might as well be just that.

"Hey kid," Qrow called out to Ruby as he danced around a Beowulf, baiting it to get closer to his sword like a person playing fetch with their dog. "This one's all yours."

Ruby rushed up behind the unsuspecting Beowulf and slid to a stop beneath its enormous snout. Using a semblance-augmented jump, she pushed herself right through the air and hooked Crescent Rose around its neck on the way up. It came off with a _slice_ and Ruby landed at Qrow's side a moment after the creature's head had hit the ground with _thud._

"How's that one?" Ruby asked with an eager smile, but between short breaths. She was obviously worn out, and yet it impressed Qrow how much a small girl like her could keep going as she did. Perhaps it was the energy in the air, the feeling of fighting alongside a team of family members, all born huntsman and huntresses.

Qrow smiled back at Ruby and tussled her hair. "Pretty good for a beginner." He switched his weapon into its scythe mode once again. "Watch and learn, kid."

Ruby and Qrow watched each other's backs as they shredded through the rest of the Grimm. What was once a life or death situation just a little while ago was now a learning experience for Ruby, with Qrow showed her a trick or two along the way.

The last Beowulf was now all alone, surrounded by the four family members. It didn't know who to attack, but all it could comprehend was it needed to kill them all. Grimm never did worry about their own safety, at least, not these kind of Grimm.

"Alright," Qrow said as he leaned his scythe on his left shoulder. "Who wants the last one?" He asked, as if to ask who wanted the last cookie in the jar.

"I've got this," Yang said as she smashed her fist together. Her aura still glowed wildly despite the countless of other Grimm she had pulverized her way through earlier.

But before Yang could have her shot, the last Beowulf was instantly bisected by a sudden blur of rose pedals.

"What?" Yang gasped. "Ruby!" She exclaimed, showing more motherly concern than irritation.

"Heh, heh, sorry." She squeaked. "I just wanted to tryout one last move. I guess I got caught up in all the excitement."

"I'll say," Taiyang remarked as he shot a sharp edged look in Qrow's direction. "You, me, talk, now." He said to Ruby with clenched fist on his hips as gave his signature 'dad stair'.

Ruby went from being a brave warrior to a nervous teenager waiting for her imminent doom. Before she could answer, Yang was on top of her, rolling the small teenager into a strong hug.

"C'mon dad, let's go home first and cool off." She said, also upset in her own way with Ruby but also not blind to the obvious intentions of her younger sister. "We all could use a breather, right?"

Tiayang, as upset as the dragon was, took heed to his daughter's suggestion.

"Alright fine," He finally said. "Qrow, take point, there could be more Grimm on the way back." He commanded.

"Uh, sure thing." He said with a hint of nervousness. He knew his end of near too, so later he might as well finish off what was left in his flask right?

"Oh! I'll take point too!" Ruby said, excited with the prospects of finding more Grimm. Her battle rush had hardly subsided yet.

"You and your sister are following me. Closely. Very closely." Taiyang iterated.

With a small pout, Ruby followed her instructions. Yang kept an arm snugged around her as they made the track home. Obviously, she thought, they still think she's a child…

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, the second part is coming out SOON. Like I said, I had to split this up. Now I'm just going to finish off the rest of this and wrap up this story. Thanks for reading by the way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I really hope part 2 is done soon enough.**


	6. Family & Hope, Part 2

**Oh hey, look, I finally finished what should've beena short story... Sorry for the wait folks. I hope you enjoy :)**

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 **Part 6 - Family & Hope 2**

The sun was finally about to set on what seemed like the longest day in his life. Qrow watched it from a comfy chair on the front porch of Taiyang's homestead as he rested an icepack on his bruised shoulder, were a Beowulf had treated him like a chew toy.

Zwei kept him company as he rested his furry little body by his legs. At least someone other than Ruby wasn't mad at him.

Soon later, Taiyang walked out onto the porch, arms crossed.

They met each other with a glance, before Qrow went back to his sunset watching.

"So, how is she?" Qrow wondered.

Taiyang sighed and took on the chair next to Qrow. "She nearly passed out after giving me the whole story. Yang's looking after her now."

Qrow nodded slowly with ease as he leaned back in his chair.

He groaned as he rested the back of his head on the chair. It felt like someone had jammed a screwdriver between his bones, which wasn't that far off from having a Beowulf try to bite through his aura.

Taiyang sighed and took up a seat next to the other. The two of them sat there for a while, neither knowing what to say next. A lot has happened in recent days, and a lot has seemed to change. Qrow had almost forgotten what it all felt like too. Being with family, training the young, fighting on a team, these were all things he never had the chance to be a part of in his travels.

"This shouldn't have happened," Taiyang finally said, as if to break the silence with a brick.

Qrow turned his head to stare sharply at the other, and popped his sore neck in the process. "Don't even start." He warned.

Taiyang raised a disarming hand. "I didn't mean it like that. The Grimm, there shouldn't have been so many. Had I've known there were… I wouldn't have asked you to go in my place."

It was Qrow's turn to correct the other. "Don't act all tough. By yourself, you would've been cooked too. That sort of work needs a full team of huntsman to handle, regardless of how you look at it."

Taiyang nodded in agreement. "I guess that is sort what happened though, a team of huntsman fighting together."

Qrow grunted a laugh. "Yeah, two over the hill men and a pair of little girls. One's a walking talking fighting ball of fire, and the other a caped crusader with a weapon twice her size."

"They're not so little anymore it seems." Taiyang said. "Ruby though… I had no idea she'd learn so much from you already. The way she handled the Grimm on her first hunt… Qrow, thank you."

The other had to do a double take before he raised an eyebrow. "What? I thought you'd want to burn my hide off, not thank me out of the blue like that."

Taiyang shrugged. "Alright, I might've wanted to when I got to the forest. But the way Ruby had put it, you risked everything for her sake. And in the end, she said she was always thinking about you."

"Well, considered my heart touched." Qrow remarked with a small grin and a roll of the eye. "You know how stubborn that kid is? There I was trying to get her out of harm's way and she just kept going on about 'saving me from myself' or some nonsense like that."

"It's not nonsense. You do remember our _talk_ at the cliff when you first got back, right?"

Qrow rubbed his chin. "I remember the dragon fist you firmly planted in my jaw, but also yes, I do remember what you've been saying to me all this time. And you know what, fine. It might've been how you've put it back then. I can't exactly let go of my failures, the people I've…" He paused and sighed. "We've lost. But that doesn't mean I'm just fighting to forget or to just let it all end." He gave Taiyang a reassuring look. "Ruby wants me to train her as a huntress, so there was no way I'd go down easy back there, or ever again for that matter."

Taiyang's eye lit up with surprise. "So what you're staying… is you'll be sticking around?" He asked, excited like, fingers dug into his chair's armrest.

Qrow nodded. "For a bit longer sure. I mean, you and I will be busy investigating the Ash Woods for a while anyhow, as we can't overlook all of those Grimm that gathered, also-"

Taiyang reached over and put Qrow into a friendly, one armed vice grip around the neck. "I'd knew you'd eventually come to your sense."

"Guh," Qrow groaned. "Don't… push it buddy…" He managed to squirm free. "It's just for a while, I mean what with Ozpin's orders..." He paused abruptly as he spotted something moving down the dirt road leading up to the house. "Oh wow, I'll be damned…"

Qrow and Taiyang stood up to get a better view of what appeared to be a person approaching.

"Qrow, is that…?"

"Yeah, the wizard actually left his tower for a change." Qrow remarked.

Indeed, it was Professor Ozpin himself approaching the pair. As the headmaster of Beacon, he rarely ever left his academy, only ever doing so for rare occurrences.

Ozpin smiled as he come within distance of the house. "Taiyang, it's been too long since we've last spoke." He nodded at the other. "And Qrow. You seem a bit… worse for wear."

"That's putting it lightly," Qrow snorted. "But I doubt you came all this way just to check on me."

"Ah, well, yes and no." Ozpin started. "Glynda pasted along Taiyang's report about your recent encounter with the Grimm. I will say, it has me a bit disturbed."

"Yeah? Is it the sheer number of Grimm or the fact that we had to rely on a pair of little girls to take on a share of the fighting?" Qrow asked.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow in Qrow's direction.

Taiyang coughed nervously. "I left that part out for a reason, Qrow." He hissed, starring a dagger at the other.

Qrow could only grin nervously. "Oh, uh, never mind that last part then."

Ozpin smiled and nodded. "Very well, but you'll have to regale me with the details later. I do understand one of the said little girls has _silver eyes_ , correct?"

The two other men looked at each other for a brief moment before Qrow nodded back to Ozpin.

"Yeah, I think she's going to be a whole lot like her mom." Qrow added. "I'm taking her on as an apprentice, which, on that note, means I'll need to take some more time off from your assignments."

"Oh?" Ozpin remarked with genuine surprise. "That comes as relief to me, that you've found a reason to stay close to the kingdom for now. As it happens, I been trying to find a way to keep you closer to Vale for some time now."

It was Qrow's turn to respond with surprise. "You've been _what_? So when you encouraged me to take some time away from those missions to come back here…"

Ozpin nodded. "Yes, I had hopes you would find a reason to stay here. And it seems you've found it." He nodded at Taiyang. "Through some family encouragement I'm sure."

Taiyang rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "It took that and then some."

"Good," Ozpin said. "I trust, then, that you have informed Qrow of his new post?"

"Huh?" Qrow grunted, starring back and forth between a sheepishly grinning Taiyang and a passive Ozpin. "What new _post_?"

"Yeah, about that," Taiyang began. "Oz had this idea that, if you were going to stay for some time, you'd be well suited to… well… teach at Signal for a while."

Qrow starred at the two for a while before giving a nervous laugh. "Oh ha, ha, right, yeah that would be a good idea. Letting this old drunk teach a bunch of kids how to play with weapons and Grimm. Yeah, that would have been a disaster." The two others weren't budging though, and Qrow realized to his horror that this wasn't a joke. "Okay now, hold on a second-"

"Qrow," Taiyang started.

"Oh no," Qrow threw his arms up in a protesting gesture. "That is such a bad idea. I mean seriously, me, a teacher? C'mon Tai, be serious about this."

Taiyang searched for a rebuttal but could only look at Ozpin for support.

"There's no better huntsman out there, who has seen more and experienced more, than you Qrow."

"Exactly," Taiyang added. "You might as well while you train Ruby, who is going to be attending Signal soon too."

Qrow could look at the two others, dazed by disbelief. "It's not too late to get eaten by the Grimm, is it?" He asked, with a serious tone.

…

"I said I'm fine!" Ruby squirmed as Yang pushed her back into bed.

"And I'm a Giant Nevermore." Yang retorted as she held her sister by the shoulders and pushed her onto the soft pillows and sheets. "You were about to pass out just a moment ago. Geez sis, give me a break."

"But Uncle Qrow-"

"-isn't going anywhere." Yang interjected. "At least, not without saying goodbye."

Ruby pouted some more before crossing her arms with a corgi shaped pillow being crushed underneath them.

Yang stood up from her little sister's bedside. "That's better. You're need your rest and then some. What you did to those Grimm was just amazing. Imagine what you'll be doing to them when you when you're an actual trained huntress."

Ruby kept her eyes down, still pouting.

Yang sighed. "Ruby," She began. "Sometimes, you need take things a little more–"

A few quick barks from Zwei from down the hallway cut her off. The stubby legged little fur ball came sliding to a stop at the bed and bark a few more notes.

"Dad's needs me?" Yang asked back. The dog's keen words made it sound serious. "Alright, watch Ruby for me, boy."

Zwei barked an affirmative.

"Good dog."

Yang jogged out of the room to find her father, leaving the teenage girl and little dog by themselves.

After having waited a few moments, Zwei turned around made is was to the window in the room. He nudged it open with his little snout and gave Ruby a low bark.

Ruby's eyes widened when she realized Zwei was helping her out.

"Good boy, Zwei." Ruby whispered as she patted him on the head. She opened the window fully and slipped through the opening.

She steadied herself on the slightly sloped roof on the other side, which over hanged the patio below. And very quietly, she squeezed the window shut as she notices Zwei take her place underneath the sheets on her bed. _Such an awesome dog._

"Hey kid,"

Ruby, cat-like and all, fell to her fours from the surprise to find her dear uncle slouched on the roof, his back against the side of the house and legs stretched out, flask in hand.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby leaped at him before he could tell her to keep it down.

He caught the small thing easily with his better, uninjured arm. "Easy kid, we're a little banged up right now." He said as he tussled her hair.

Ruby settled down next to him and smiled, snuggling up next to the grizzled huntsman. "You sent Zwei my way, right?"

"Ha, yeah," He chuckled, which kind of hurts to do at the moment. "I owe him now. I figured you'd were going to come looking me eventually so I made it easy for you."

"Got me there," She said with a sheepish green, before taking on a more somber tone. "You were leaving soon so I wanted too…" Her voice shrank into nothingness and she buried her face in his chest.

"Hey, c'mon," The other started, feeling a tight knot form. "It's not like I was going to take off without a word."

"Yeah, I know," She muffled, not wanting to let go.

Qrow smiled and tussled her hair some more. "Geez kid, stop mopping on me here. I'm not going anywhere for a while now."

Did lightning strike or was that just Ruby's heart getting a jolt? Qrow wondered this as the little girl suddenly jumped up to stare at him, mouth hanging with an unspoken question.

"W-w-w-what?" Ruby stammered in surprise, holding on tight to his shirt to keep herself from flying off the roof.

"Uh, yeah," He shrugged. "Your dad somehow got me hooked into teaching at Signal, which means–"

His words were chocked off as a sudden force began to press down upon his chest like a massive vice grip. Ruby Rose wanted to let him know, without having to say it, that she was experiencing one of the happiest moments of her life.

"Ooooohhhh Uncle Qrow!" She squealed, positively bursting at the seams with radiant joy. "Does this mean we can go on more hunts now? Oh, maybe so more training! But first I gotta show some more design I have for Crescent Rose and other cool stuff, and, and…" Finally, she took a breath. "And… I'm just so happy." She finally said.

"Wow, wow, kid, don't start flying off the handle." Qrow tried to calm her, all the while conscious of the fact that they're still on the roof and Ruby is crushing him along his chest and back which really-really-really hurts. _Oh geez kid ouch, ouch, ouch!_

Ruby took a moment to calm down. "Sorry, it's just that now I don't have to wait for that adventure you promised me."

Qrow recalled, having made a light promise to take Ruby with him on a mission. It felt to him though, she just wanted to be at his side wherever he ended up, be it a mission or a hunt or just training out on the fields of Patch.

"Well guess what," Qrow tussled her on the head again. "Wait's over kid. Starting tomorrow, the fun stuff begins. If you thought my training was easy so far, then you're going to be in trouble."

Ruby giggled. "I think we both will be if I don't get back to my room before Yang gets back."

Qrow nodded. "Yeah, good point, let's get you tucked back into bed and–"

"Zwei? Where did Ruby go?" The voice of Yang Xiao Long could be heard from around the corner, inside the girl's bedroom.

Ruby froze on the spot. "Uh oh." She whimpered.

"Yang, what happened to Ruby?" The voice of Taiyang Xiao Long could also be heard. "QROOOOOOW!" He suddenly roared, his tone shifting from concerned to murderous.

"Double uh oh." Qrow froze in place with a ghastly look on his face as he suddenly began receiving terrible flashbacks to the last time his best friend was this pissed off. "Got any good hiding places?" He whispered. "I really don't want to get punched again."

"I've got a secret bunker beneath the barn. They don't know about it." She whispered back and pointed towards the back of the house.

Qrow didn't ask how or why she had one of those, all he was concerned about was _their_ safety and wellbeing.

He waved for her to follow him as they slowly made their way across the roof towards the barn, together, both already beginning another adventure fraught with excitement and danger.

* * *

 **Thanks again for reading the whole story! I had fun writing for this and I have another fic in the works that I think you all might like. Here's a quick preview for you since you're all so awesome:**

 **Image Vale in the shape and image of a 1940's New York City or Chicago, where crime is laden within its core. Enter one Detective Ruby Rose, a young junior detective fighting for the side of justice and good. She does her best to solve some of the most daunting cases in Vale, with some help of her many friends. Such as the the** **heiress Weiss Schnee, who often employs Ruby on behalf of her family and ends up getting envolved in the case. There is also her sister, Yang, the renowned boxing champion of Vale's burgeoning boxing scene. And of course, there's Blake, a faunus maid in the Schnee family's employ who has... ulterior motive. Let's also not forget about Zwei, Detective Ruby's faithful sidekick and also officemate as she can't afford a very large office...**

 **I'd like to hear what you all thought of the Qrows & Roses and the short preview of a Detective!AU style RWBY FanFic. **

**Thank you all again for reading!**


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